No. 6 Los Alamitos (7-2, 2-2) vs. No. 5 Fountain Valley (8-1, 3-1)
Thursday, 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium

Outlook: A victory by Fountain Valley clinches second place in the Sunset League. A victory by Los Alamitos forces a coin flip.

Which road do you think the Sunset League will attempt to follow?

The Griffins kept their playoff hopes alive with a 21-19 victory over Esperanza. The Barons must bounce back from their 24-0 loss to rival Edison. Can they do it?

Edison kept the Barons away from the big play. Kyle Middlebrooks rushed for 83 yards and Dominic Ragland gained just 34 yards. Can this duo get back on track against the Los Alamitos defense?

Both of these teams should keep an eye on how the Serra League finishes up. Notre Dame is 2-0 and will face Bishop Amat (1-1). Crespi (1-1) is playing Loyola (0-2). A Crespi loss and I don’t think the Celts would get the at-large bid over the Sunset League team.

However, if the third place team is either Notre Dame, which would be 8-2 and 2-1 (if it lost), or Bishop Amat, which would be 8-2 and 1-2 (if it lost), would either of those teams have a better resume than the fourth-place Sunset League?

Stay tuned.

Click on the links below to check out The Games to Watch: 

No. 22 Fullerton vs. No. 8 La Habra

Garden Grove vs. Santiago 

No. 18 Esperanza vs. No. 11 Newport Harbor

No. 4 Dana Hills vs. No. 2 Mission Viejo

St. John Bosco vs. No. 9 Mater Dei

BONUS GAME: Costa Mesa vs. Laguna Beach

No. 22 Fullerton (8-1, 4-0) vs. No. 8 La Habra (8-1, 4-0)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Fullerton District Stadium

Outlook: These two old acquaintances, Fullerton and La Habra, face off to decide the Freeway League title.

The Highlanders have won seven of the past nine Freeway League titles.

La Habra has outscored its first four league opponents, 182-31. Fullerton has outscored its opponents, 172-36.

Running back Joseph Hill has been the key to the Fullerton offense. He has rushed for 1,395 yards and scored 26 touchdowns. He has topped the 200-yard mark in four of his past six games.

La Habra welcomed Josh Quezada back to the lineup last week against Sunny Hills. Quezada missed the game against Troy because of the flu.

Sophomore Ahmad Avery rushed for 198 against the Warriors. Last week, the duo combined for 155 - Avery rushed for 80 and Quezada had 75.

La Habra quarterback Cody Clements had passed for 1,350 yards with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions.

The Highlanders have won the previous six meetings, including a pair of playoff games.

Will this game have a different result?

Click on the links below to check out The Games to Watch: 

No. 6 Los Alamitos vs. No. 5 Fountain Valley

Garden Grove vs. Santiago 

No. 18 Esperanza vs. No. 11 Newport Harbor

No. 4 Dana Hills vs. No. 2 Mission Viejo

St. John Bosco vs. No. 9 Mater Dei

BONUS GAME: Costa Mesa vs. Laguna Beach

No. 18 Esperanza (4-5, 1-3) vs. No. 11 Newport Harbor (5-4, 2-2)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Valencia High

Outlook: Beware of the Aztecs!!!

Last season, Esperanza defeated Edison in the final game of the regular season and forced the five-way tie for first place that eventually kept Edison out of the playoffs.

An Esperanza victory against Newport Harbor will end the Sailors’ hopes of making the playoffs.

The Sailors are hoping for another Doomsday Scenario, but not as drastic as last season’s five-way tie, to get into the playoffs this season. If Newport Harbor defeats Esperanza and Los Alamitos defeats Fountain Valley, then that will leave three teams (Sailors, Griffins and Barons) tied for second at 3-2.

At that point, get the coins ready!!!  This could happen, so be prepared.

The Aztecs started league with losses to Edison (34-10) and Esperanza (31-14). They defeated Marina in Week 3 and lost to Esperanza, 21-19.

The Sailors ended a two-game losing streak with a 49-0 victory over Marina last week.

Will the Aztecs keep the Sailors from the playoffs?

How many coin flips will it take to decide the Sunset League playoff representatives?

Click on the links below to check out The Games to Watch: 

No. 6 Los Alamitos vs. No. 5 Fountain Valley

No. 22 Fullerton vs. No. 8 La Habra

Garden Grove vs. Santiago 

No. 4 Dana Hills vs. No. 2 Mission Viejo

St. John Bosco vs. No. 9 Mater Dei

BONUS GAME: Costa Mesa vs. Laguna Beach

St. John Bosco (5-4, 2-2) vs. No. 9 Mater Dei (5-4, 2-2)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. at St. John Bosco High

Outlook: The playoff lives for both teams are on the line. The Monarchs opened Trinity League play with losses to Orange Lutheran and Servite, but have rebounded with victories over JSerra and Santa Margarita. The Braves have followed the same script, losing to Servite and Orange Lutheran and defeating JSerra and Santa Margarita.

Both teams have had opportunities to avoid this winner-take-all game. Mater Dei’s losses were by a combined 13 points. Bosco led Orange Lutheran heading into the fourth quarter of their game, only to end up losing 24-17.

The Monarchs have picked up steam during their two-game winning streak, scoring 41 points on both occasions. Junior running back Corbin Anderson has picked up the slack created by Jordan Allen’s injury, rushing for 204 yards and six touchdowns in the last two games.

Quarterback Max Wittek has completed 19 of 29 for 351 yards during that same time.

The Monarchs haven’t missed the playoffs since 1986.

Now the season is down to four quarters for one playoff berth. Who will advance?

Click on the links below to check out The Games to Watch: 

No. 6 Los Alamitos vs. No. 5 Fountain Valley

No. 22 Fullerton vs. No. 8 La Habra

Garden Grove vs. Santiago 

No. 18 Esperanza vs. No. 11 Newport Harbor

No. 4 Dana Hills vs. No. 2 Mission Viejo

BONUS GAME: Costa Mesa vs. Laguna Beach

A look at the release times for the CIF draw and some dates of interest:

Team draws are announced Monday at 11 am.

May 14: First round matches

May 16: Second round matches

June 3: Team finals (Claremont Club

Individual Tournament draws

First and Second Round: May 22 (Whittier Narrows Tennis Center, South El Monte; Costa Mesa Tennis Center, Costa Mesa; University of Redlands, Redlands)
Round of 16 and Quarterfinals: May 29 – 11:30 am, Seal Beach Tennis Center, Seal Beach
Semifinals and Finals: May 30 - 11:30 am,  Seal Beach Tennis Center, Seal Beach

More from the boys tennis blog:

• Boys tennis: New CIF rankings (May 7)
• Boys tennis: South Coast League individual results
• Boys tennis: Pacific Coast League individual results
• Boys tennis: Orange Coast League individual results
• Boys tennis: Top 10 rankings
• Boys tennis: Northwood, Woodbridge face off for Sea View title
• Boys tennis: No. 1 University wins No. 50 in a row

But first, an explanation.

Semifinal playoff games are played at alternate sites. An alternate site, selected by the home team with approval of the CIF-Southern Section office, is a gym at which the home team does not practice. It is not a "neurtral" site. For example, there is not much that is "neutral" about Marina-Thousand Oaks being up at Westlake High. Nothing wrong with that. If I'm the home team, you bet I am making the visiting team take the longest trip possible.

Anyway, here are the semifinal sites we have, with updates to come ...

Semifinals involving Orange County schools

Games are Friday, at 7:30 p.m., except where noted ...home teams listed second ...

I-AA -- Mater Dei vs. Etiwanda at A.B. Miler High of Fontana

I-A -- Tesoro vs. Santa Monica at TBA

II-AA -- Marina vs. Thousand Oaks at Westlake High

III-AA -- Canyon vs. Nogales at Rowland High of Rowland Heights; Arroyo Grande vs. Santa Margarita at JSerra High

III-A -- Sonora vs. Harvard Westlake of North Hollywood at TBA

IV-AA --Serra of Gardena vs. Ocean View at Mater Dei High

V-AA -- Calvary Chapel vs. Morningside of Inglewood at TBA

VI-AA -- Tarbut V'Torah vs. Pacifica Christian of Santa Monica at Culver City High, Saturday at 8 p.m.

VI-A -- Padre Pio vs. Besant Hill of Ojai at Thacher High of Ojai

RELATED:

• CIF boys basketball brackets
• CIF girls basketball brackets

Video after the jump.

(Click here to read CIF Semifinal Capsules: East Valley Division)

Video after the jump.

(Click here to read CIF Semifinal Capsules: Southern Division.)